A car & a woman driver's drama.

Our car has recently returned to us, thank you ALLAH!!! 

I'm like a bird without wings without my car. 

Yes, it's MY car!

Hehe.

I had to go a whole month without a car and I was miserable the whole time. :(

Back in March, we couldn't afford to renew our road-tax and insurance coverage 

(RM548 for both!) so I've had to ride the motorcycle instead.

I sent Shahrin to pre-school, went shopping, went to writing class, took out the trash etc.

all on the motorcycle. So undignified, hehe. 

The undignified part is when I always have to bring Nazrin along,

wherever I go and the only 'safe' place to put him was in the motorcycle's basket.

Poor kid. Luckily, he's on the smallish size, so sitting in that basket was no big deal for him.

There was one time I had to bring him along on a trip to Parit Buntar and

on the way home, after a busy day, he fell asleep! that's right, he slept! in the basket 

while I had to drive slowly & avoid all the bumps and potholes along the way. *sigh*

Anyway, in early April, we finally had enough to get the road-tax and insurance for our car.

The day we got the road-tax, I took the car out for an all-out car-washing experience. 

For the car, not me, I waited at the nearest Mamak stall with Nazrin.

The car looked so shiny and smelled so nice, I almost didn't want to take it out anywhere after that. LOL.

Unfortunately, a week after that, while we were driving home from a Doctor's appointment for the boys,

the car began making screeching sounds and letting out smoke.

Ahmad was driving that day, so I was off the hook. If I had been in the driver's seat that day,

I wouldn't hear the end of it.

Just as Ahmad pulled into our driveway, the car's engine went dead, 

as if finally giving up after trying so hard to get us safely home. 

Aaaaa...thanks Car, I love you!

When Ahmad popped the hood, we saw that the pipe linking the water tank to the engine (or something, I don't know, I don't do mechanical talks :p) has burst open an steam was coming out of it.

Ahmad checked the water but it was in the safe level, so we don't really know 

how and why that pipe burst like that.

It looked like someone had taken a knife and tore a long gash along the pipe.

Ahmad knew a mechanics and we were informed that the repair would cost around RM300 - RM500.

Again, the car had to be put to rest and I was back to riding the motorcycle.

We even had to travel back to Alor Setar for Shahrin's hypospadias correcting operation by bus, 

as I had posted here.

So, I had to stay miserable for a few more weeks, but thanks to my excellent teacher who had recommended me to do proofreading for a couple of Masters students, we were able to send the car to car-hospital.
As of Sunday (8th May 2011), I am the proud driver of my little old car again
and the repair only cost us RM370.   

So, today, I am back zooming on the streets of Bagan Serai, going from one bank to another.
This is the case of robbing Paul to pay off Peter for a new project I'm looking forward to. More on this later.
Anyway, as I was approaching a Maybank branch here, I got stuck at the parking lot
due to another driver's stupidity. The parking lot allocated slanted parking spaces and there is a tight spot between the main area and the curve leading to the bank and to more parking spaces.
A moron had parked a Mercedes at exactly that tight spot where cars were supposed
to be able to pass through to the bank easily.
I honked and honked because I didn't want to risk ruining the car's perfect paint-job and I waited for the owner to come but to no avail. I got a little panicked because there were more cars lined up behind me
and I honestly thought that my car can't pass through. Luckily, an older man at the bank saw me (actually everybody outside the bank saw me, heh) and came over to help me.
He gave out directions while I very, very slowly and carefully drove my car past the Merc.
Thank GOD for good Samaritans!
He was as angry as I was over the stupidity of the Merc's owner for parking there.

After I got through and managed to find a spot to park my car, I got out to witness the cars behind me
breezily past through the tight spot, without the hoolabaloo I had gone through.
*ugghh*
I was pretty sure all the eyewitness at the bank had this going through their head:
Noisy woman driver!   

Oh the shame!!

Fever fever.

First it was Shahrin. Man, he was such a bad patient. *sigh*
But then again, he's always like that, whiny, no matter what his health condition is like, heh.

Then, this afternoon, just when I thought it was over, Nazrin got it too. Ughh..
Poor baby, he was practically shivering just now, even in this sweltering heat.
Thankfully, he is a better patient than his brother.
Hope this fever week pass soon because I can't stand watching my boys sick.
I'd take all their sickness if that was ever possible.



Anyway, my neighbor's son went missing this morning. He's a grown man but with mental disabilities.
He'd never leave his house before, he'd always just stand there in his front yard, by the roadside, watching the cars zoom by. The police has been notified but you know how it goes, if it's not been 24 hours, they can't file an official report.
His father (who has a heart problem, very recently released from the hospital) discovered his son's disappearance when he couldn't find his son anywhere around 10 this morning. They both are early risers & when his son still didn't 'wake up' by half past 9'ish, he went looking for his son.
Ahmad's out there now, somewhere, trying to locate the missing man. The men in this village had organized a search party, hoping to find Kimi (the missing man) in the various palm oil plantations around this area based on a clue given by a bomoh (medicine man?).
I pray that he will be found soon and that he would be fine. Why would anyone would want to hurt someone like Kimi? He'd never hurt a fly.

Please pray for his safe return. 

Foiled by the rain.

Last night before I closed my eyes, I had made a mental list of chores I wanted to do today.
I was feeling quite proud of myself for having one because my usual MO is to just do whatever I feel like doing for the day.

Here's my list:
1- Send comforters to the cleaners (they can't fit into my washing machine).
2- Throw out trash (dumpster truck don't come our way so we've had to go into town to throw our trash which are mostly diapers).
3- Go to the bank.
4- Grocery shopping.
5- Pay the bills.

Then, it started raining.
At least the air is cooler now. For the past week, we've had to keep 2 stand-fans on all night just to keep cool.

Anyway, looks like the rain is going to stop soon. Might as well get ready now.

Have a nice day folks.

Pictures of my cooking adventures.

Simple dishes, just the way I like them. So says the wife who doesn't like to cook, hehe.

Soy sauce, minced onions, chili, sugar and a splash of vinegar. (Chicken dip)

 

 Chopped cabbage with sauteed onion, garlic and chili. Sort of soupy but with a taste of hotness.

These are my latest trial runs. Sometimes, I do get the urge to try something new. 

I got the idea to make these from Expect the Unexpected, Adik's blog.

Well, these chicken nuggets are so simple, I wonder why I didn't learn how to make them sooner.

All I did was boiled 3 medium potatoes, mashed them up, mixed them with some minced chicken meat and onions (she used the leafy bit). Add a bit of salt, mixed them well and then make patties out of the mix.

I dipped the patties in egg wash and fried them. That was it!

Still have some more patties in the freezer, will make more of these tomorrow.

Yummy!!

If at first you don't succeed?

Try and try again!

I keep telling myself that I need to change but I feel like I'm still stuck within myself; unhappy, not contend, angry, restless, pitiful and etc. In short, everything ugly that a person can feel about themselves.

I have tried my hand at being an online businesswoman but based on my current situation, looks like my bait is not getting me any 'fish'. I'm envious of other bloggers/Facebookers who are reeling in the dough while no matter what I do, seems not enough.

I have tried to be flexible with Ahmad and his family, but all I'm getting are more problems. Plus, he's not doing anything to help me regarding HIS family matter. Ughh.

I have tried not to involve my parents into my financial problems but my mom is persistent. She always seems to instinctively know the moment I'm all dried out. One of them would then call/SMS telling me that 'Hey, there's RM*** in your account, go spend it on a nice pair of shoes'. Though not exactly that sentence but you get my point, right?

But, as Dibo The Gift Dragon said, "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again!"

I know that success doesn't come rolling (direct translation from a Malay proverb; kejayaan tidak datang bergolek, hehe) but it sure isn't even crawling my way. *sigh*

I need to focus more on getting my 'business' out there. I know I CAN DO IT!
INSYA ALLAH.....

Etiquette to be observed at the hospital.

Hi all.
I've finished proofreading the theses 2 days ago. Still haven't got paid though.
Hopefully they'll pay me today since I need that money to repair my car.

I'm currently kind of stuck on what to blog about since I've been incognito for the last 2 weeks.
I did bring home (to my parents house) my lappy but the broadband coverage was crappy & I couldn't log-in.
Then, after we've come back here to Bagan Serai, I started doing the proofreading project & couldn't find the time to blog. Today, I just don't know what to blog, even though I no longer have any other projects to do.

But I do remember wanting to write down my piece of mind regarding hospital etiquette that everyone should observe. 6 days with Shahrin at the ward with all the other hospital visitors really opened my eyes about 'being considerate' and 'thinking of others'.

Elevator rules.
The new-ish Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah has a 7-floor building used as wards. Shahrin was placed on the 4th floor in the surgical ward, for women and children. They do have 2 special rooms for children in that ward but they were full, so we had to stay with the ladies instead. Anyway, while doing the day-shift, I did find myself having to use the elevator a few times a day, to get to the cafeteria or the convenience store located on the ground floor. There are 4 elevators which are mostly empty except for during visiting hours. Here's a few rules I think should be posted on the elevator doors for 'visiting hours only':

1- Wait for your turn.
During visiting hours; 12.30 - 2.00pm and 4.30 - 7.30pm, the number of elevator users surge exponentially. The closer to the end of visiting hours, the more people come to visit loved ones at the numerous wards. They all think that they deserve to get into the elevators first and the moment the doors open, everybody would rush forward, slamming into those who are trying to get out of the elevators. Please wait for your turns! It's like watching primary students rushing to get onto the school bus. Sheesh people. Couldn't you wait 30 seconds till everyone who are trying to get off, have gotten off? Don't make me suggest to the management to post a sign saying: PLEASE Q UP!

2- Be considerate.
When you see that the elevator is already crammed with people, Please wait for another elevator! No matter how crowded the elevator already is, there are still individuals who would inconsiderately push their way into the already-full-to-near-capacity elevator. I mean, things can get really awkward in that situation, especially when everyone has been sweating a lot.

3- Think before getting on.
There are indicator lights above the elevator doors, telling its passengers where the elevator is headed for. If you are going down, Don't ride on the elevator that's going up! People think that just because the elevators are there, they (the people) can just ride them up and down, as many times as they like. They are not thinking about the other visitors who are waiting to get on and visit their relatives/loved ones/friends in that hospital wards too.


Ward rules.
There are sections in a particular ward (at least the 2 wards that we went to) and usually 4-5 beds are placed in each section. For the convenience of the patients and visitors alike, a toilet and a bathroom are located nearby. Unlike the old hospitals where for the whole ward, the toilets are placed at the end of the long hallway and patients have to waddle/walk (depending on the type of injuries) slowly in order to use it. There are also curtains hanging from the ceiling for those moments of privacy for the patients.Observe these rules, please:

1- Flush it!

I hate it when people just leave the toilet without flushing. I mean, all you have to do is Press the flush button! (or pull the pump or whatever necessary to flush the toilet) & it will be clean for the next user. But for some people, flushing a toilet is far beneath their capabilities and why bother doing it when there is somebody else who's going to do it for you.

2- Clean it up.
When visitors flock to see the patients, most of them would bring home-made foods along. It's like having a picnic while visiting a patient. For the industrious individuals, they would wash their dishes at the sink in the toilets provided after they have finished their meal. Unfortunately, many of them would just rinse all the leftovers into the sink and leave it full of filth after they are done. Clean up after yourselves, people!

3- Use of garbage bins.
All around the wards are strategically placed bins for different 'garbage/trash'. When a patient is admitted into a ward, a nurse would inform the patient and the person who is going to take care of him/her of the rules to be obeyed while in the ward. One of the rules is the different use of different bins; yellow bin is specially reserved for biological waste i.e. bloodied cotton swabs, diapers, gloves, wipes. The other bin can be used to throw other types of ordinary waste. However, most visitor just ignore the sign showing exactly what can and cannot be placed into the yellow bin. To them, a garbage bin IS a garbage bin, regardless of its color.    

4- Observing the drawn curtain policy. 
When a patient needs a little privacy or when a doctor needs to exam him/her, the caregiver/person waiting on them/nurse can draw the curtain, offering a little private space to do whatever it is that needs to be done behind drawn curtains. However, there are some visitors who do not respect this policy. Though they came to visit somebody else, they sometimes wander around and mingle with the other visitors. The mingling somehow gave them the justification to ignore the fact that some patients do not want to be disturb, thus the drawn curtains. To them, every patient are open for discussions or should be looked into because, you know, it might be interesting. Please, next time you visit someone at the hospital, do not rudely poke your head into a section with drawn curtains.

Well, that's all I need to write about hospital etiquette or what I feel visitors should observe while visiting a patient. All of the above are just common curtsey, things that people should/shouldn't do if they really pay attention to their surroundings. These etiquette are not to burden anybody, just to ease everybody's business.  

Quick update.

I'm still busy doing proofreading but I am quite excited about a new project I wish to try.
Though I think I still owe you an entry on hospital etiquette right?
Will be doing that soon, hopefully. My current work is due tomorrow, so, better get back to it.